With the bilateral support of the chairman of the Senate Racing, Gaming and Wagering committee, Democrat Eric Adams, and Republican senator Thomas Libous
of Binghamton, track operator Jeff Gural is moving forward on the tortuous road to table games at Tioga Downs and Vernon Downs.
Adams has introduced a bill that would amend the state constitution to add five privately owned casinos at tracks, and meet other criteria.
The Ithaca Journal, reporting the development, says the five would be in Tioga, Saratoga and Oneida counties, with two in Sullivan county in the Catskills. Buffalo Raceway and Batavia Downs would not be eligible under the bill.
Gural says if the legislation passes, he has plans for an expanded racino at Tioga Downs, construction of a hotel with indoor parking, and additional restaurants.
Driving the legislation is the promise of some 200 new jobs to operate the table games and 100 to staff the hotel. That would double Tioga’s present staffing.
Tioga currently has 775 video slots and a major league racing schedule. Gural’s hopes will require diligence and patience. The bill would have to be approved in two legislative sessions because it calls for a constitutional amendment, and then would have to pass a statewide referendum.
Gural explained that the process could take two years, but said if the bill is not passed now it would delay the whole operation for two years.
Don Groth, president of Catskill OTB, said he would oppose the legislation “unless it had a companion provision to discount the payments OTBs are required to make to racetracks.”
(Harness Tracks of America)